Motor attachment for bicycles.



H. TIDEMAN.

Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHE T I H. TIDEMAN. MOTOR ATTACHMENT FOR BICYCLES. APPLICATTON HLED AUG. IL 1914.

Patented Dec. 28; 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' "lllln HENRY TIDEIVIAN, OF MENOMINEE, MICHIGAN.

MOTOR ATTACHMENT FOR BICYCLES.

Application filed August 17,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY TIDEMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Menbminee, in the county of Menominee and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motor Attachments for'Bicycles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in motor attachments for bicycles and refers more particularly to a type of motor-attachment which may be applied to an ordinary safety bicycle, thereby converting the same into a motorcycle.

Amongthe salient objects of the inventlon are, to provide a motor attachment capable of being connected to an ordinary safety b1- cycle so that the latter may be pushed along from the rear by the said motor attachment; to provide an attachment of the class referred to which is capable of being applied tom detached from an ordinary safety b1- cycle without the necessity of employing special devices or appliances and with a minimum consumption of time and trouble; to provide a motor attachment of the class referred to whichshall be capable of maintaining the bicycle in an upright position when the machine is standing; to rovide a motor attachment of the type re erred to which is of the required power to move the combined machine and its rider atthe deis of minimum weight and size so as not to occupy a large amount of storage space or interfere with the riders customary move ments in mounting or dismounting from the machine; to provide a. motor attachment of the type referred to which is so organized that while constructed in the proper manner to maintain the bicycle in an upright position, it does not materially interfere with the steering movements of the machine; to provide an attachment of the class referred to so organized as to maintain thebicycle in upright position while pushing the latter along, while at the same time provision is made fortan articulated connection between the attachment and the bicycle so as to; take care of inequalities of the road surfacewithout straining the frame of the machine; to pro'yide a motor attachment'for bicycles of theclass referred to which shall be simple and economical in construction and easy and conyenient to maintain and Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. asfiois.

.1914. Serial No. 857,121.

an improved motor attachment for safety bicycles of the type referred to.

My invention consists in the matters here-' inafter described and more particularly pointed out in the accompanying drawings,

lated joint connection between the motor attachment and the frame of the bicycle. .i

Referring to the drawings, 6 represents as a whole an ordinary safety bicycle to which my device is applied, this bicycle having the usual fronLa-nd rear wheels 7 and 8, saddle 9, handle bars 10 and pedals 11 wh ch drive the rear wheel by means of.

a pair" of sprockets and chain 12. It is understood that the hub of the rear wheel 8 of the bicycle must be equipped with acoaster brake and clutch so that it is unnecessary to operate the pedals and cranks] of the bicycle while the machine is being propelled under the influence of the motor of the attachment. The frame of the bicycle is of the c'ustomary'diamond type, the

frear fork including 'a pair of stays 13 to sired rate of speed while at the same time it which the motor attachment, designated as a whole 14, is connected through the medium of the articulated joint connections designated as a whole 15. As manifest from a glance at Figs. 2 and-3, the motor attachment includes a pair of pneumatic tire wheels 16=which are spaced apartthe re-. quired distance to maintain theeqfuilibrium of the combined'machin'e, and-are connected together through the medium of, a. .drive keep in repair, and, m general to provide .issuitably supportedon the frame ef'ths machine by clips 27 and operates upon the throttle when the hand-lever 29 is ma.

nipulated. It is of course readily understood that other means of control, such as the spark advance, the valve-lifter, clutch,

etc, may be applied and operated in a similar manner, but in order to simplify the description I have shown only one control wire,--that leading to the'throttle.

tor. The side bars 30 converge at their upper front ends where they form articulated joint connections 15 with the clamps 33. Each of the clamps 33 includes a pair of bolts 34 and an adjustable member 35 shaped to correspond with the curvature of the back stays 13, and a relatively fixed clamping member 36 similarly curved to fit of the bolt and the outer sides of the bear-' the back stays, which are thus clamped between the said members 35 and 36 by means of bolts 34 passing through them. In order to prevent marring of the finished irface of the back stays 13 I face the inn r surfaces of the clamps 33 and 35 with a pair of leather strips 37. The rear end of each of the clamping members 33 is extended, as shown in Fig. 1, and forms a circular bearing disk 38 which is suitably pressed out or stamped so as to provide an annular bead or ridge 39 which is adapted to fit within a corresponding annular groove 40 formed in a "similar disk-like bearing member 41 carried by and formed integral with the upper end of each of the side bars 30 of the trailer frame. The two members 38 and 11 are each'of them centrally perforated, as shown in Fig. 4, and held together by a bolt 42 whichpasses through the said perforations. The bolt 42 is a comparatively loose fit in the perforations of the bearing disks 38 and 41 and holds the latter in intimate contact through the medium of a pair of spring washers 43 interposed between the heads ing disks 38 and 41.

It is manifest that the shape and fit of the ridges 39 in the grooves 40 may be such as to prevent relative endwise movement of the bars 30 with respect to the clamping members 33, while at the same time mutual rotation of the said members is permitted, thus enabling the side bars 30 to push the bicycle along the ground under the influence of the motor on the trailer, while at the same time the trailer or the bicycle wheels are permitted to rise and fall, due to any inequalities ,of the roadway. The spring washers 43 are inserted for the'purpose of permitting a slight springing apart at their edges of the members 38 and 41 so as to compensate for the relative angular displacements of the trailer frame with respect to the frame of the bicycle, due to steering movements of the front wheel, or torsional movements of the respective frames.

It is apparent that in order to convert the combined machineinto an ordinary bicycle,

that it is unnecessary for the rider to concern himself in preserving his balance either while stationary or while the machine is moving. I r

While I have illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification What I consider to be a preferred embodiment of my invention, yet it is obvious that my construction is capable of various modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention, and, therefore, I do not wish to be limited in the use of my device, except as specified in the appended claims.

I claim 1. The combination of a safety bicycle, a trailer therefor having two wheels with their axes coincident and-behind the axis of the rear wheel of said bicycle, sa'd wheelsbeing spaced apart on either side f a line drawn in the direction of travel of the' bicycle through the center of said rear wheel, a motor adapted to drive said trailer, and a pivotal joint connection interposed between said trailer and bicycle.

2. The combination of a safety bicycle, a I

trailer therefor having two wheels on a common axis, the projection of said axis being resiliently maintained parallel with the projected axis of the rear wheel of said bicycle while being permitted to oscillate vertically with respect to said wheel, and a motor carried by and adapted to drive said trailer.

3. The combination of a' safety bicycle, a trailer therefor having two wheels spaced apart on either side of the center line of said safety bicycle on a common axis at right-angles to the direction of travel of said bicycle and located at the rear of the.

axis of the rear wheel of. said bicycle, the pr0 ect1on of said common axis being resilie'ntly maintained parallel with the pro jected axis of the rear wheel of said bicycle, said trailer being permitted to oscillate vertically with respect to said wheel, and abicycle and said trailer adapted to permit free relative vertical displacements of the trailer with respect to said safety bicycle and adapted to permit a limited amount of horizontal displacement of said trailer and said safety bicycle.

5. The combination of a safety bicycle, a two-wheel motor-driven trailer therefor the wheels thereof having a common axis at the Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the :Gommisslo Washington, D. G.

rear of the circumference of the rear wheel of said bicycle and spaced apart on either side of the plane of said rear wheel, said trailer having a rigid, frame adapted to maintain its two wheels in their respective 25 parallel vertical planes, an articulated joint connection interposed between said safety bicycle and said trailer frame adapted to permit mutual vertical displacements of the trailer with respect to said safety bicyclei an" and resilient means associated with sai jpint connection and adaptedto permit a limited amount of horizontal angular displacement of said trailer and said'safety bicycle.

HErTR 'rIDEMAN.

Witnesses:

net of Patents, 7 

